Gift and Reward
by EllieRose101
Summary: Buffy dying to save the world was her gift to her friends, and Dawn. What she returned with, however, was her gift to Spike. (Who would let a Slayer leave heaven empty handed, after all?)
1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Suddenly knowing with complete certainty that it was what she should do, Buffy kissed her sister goodbye and launched herself out into the opening portal. Instantly she was caught up in light and…

She opened her eyes, but found it hard to focus. Everything was too bright, so she shut them again, and tried to remember what happened. It all hit her at once: the knowledge, and the emotion of it. She was dead, but she'd saved the world. Dawn was safe.

Someone was calling her – speaking her name.

"Buffy, sweetie, I'm so proud of you."

Tentatively she opened her eyes once more, but this time they flooded with tears as she caught sight of what was before her. Of _who_ was before her.

"Mommy!" she sobbed, as an immense awareness of love enveloped her from all sides, and washed her sadness away.

"I'm here, my brave girl," said Joyce.

"Mom, wow, this is amazing, this is…" she looked at her mother in confusion. She couldn't believe it.

"Heaven," Joyce finished for her.

Buffy was speechless. Everything was beautiful. Perfect.

As she looked around another person appeared, beside her mom. She felt like she recognized her, but didn't know how.

"There's someone you should meet," Joyce told her. "This is Anne."

"You're Spike's mom," said Buffy, while shaking her head.

"That's right," Anne confirmed. "In this realm there is no barrier to knowledge. You know all, and you know me, but you do not understand, yet. It will come."

The Slayer was still shaking her head. "But how? Your soul – you were a vampire."

Even as she asked questions, about things she previously had no awareness of, Buffy got the answers. She said them aloud, to herself, in an effort to process them.

"You died, and your soul came here. It was gone, by the time you woke up undead."

Anne nodded and smiled at her, waiting for the next revelation hit.

Again tears fell down Buffy's cheeks, when it did.

"Spike's soul is here."

"To take back with you," Joyce explained.

Buffy nodded. For a second time that day, she had complete certainty about what she must do.

"Thank you," she said, to both Joyce and Anne – kissing each of them on the cheek – before taking the glowing orb of energy in her hand, and walking back through the portal.

* * *

><p>Her eyes shot open. She was on the ground, and it hurt. It didn't matter. She pushed the pain aside, and sat up. Around her were her friends. Giles, stood above her. Willow and Tara, leaning on each other. Xander, carrying Anya. Dawn, descending the stairs. Spike, sobbing, on the ground. Buffy was overwhelmed with the love she felt for him, in that moment. She looked away. It wasn't time yet.<p>

They were all completely frozen in shock. No one moved as she hauled herself to her feet, and walked into her watcher's waiting embrace. As they stood there, hugging silently, the others came and joined in. Everyone except the Vampire, of course. The sun was rising, and he had to step back instead of forward - hide himself in the shadows. Buffy could feel his eyes on her, but still she didn't look back at him. She waited, until the situation had calmed a little, and the group broke apart. Once everyone was sure all was well they began to go home, to tend to their wounds. Buffy asked Willow and Tara to take Dawn, and they all looked at her, in confusion and concern, but she said there was a final bit of her mission she must complete, and that everyone should meet at her house later, when they had rested. Eventually they all had walked from the scene, and the Slayer allowed herself to turn back to her Vampire. In silence they locked eyes, and she approached him. Both shaking, she reached out her hand to him, and he stared at it – eyes wide – like it were something special. She supposed the gesture was special, to him. She never would have touched him before. No matter how much she'd always wanted to.

"It's okay," Buffy told him, softly. He gulped, and finally took her hand. She pulled him to his feet, and they made for the tunnels. Once there he stopped, and looked back at her.

"Buffy?"

"Wait," she said.

He nodded, but continued to look troubled. Tightening her hand in his, they walked on.

While looking forward, instead of at her, he said, "I really thought I'd lost you."

"I know," she replied. She wanted to say so much more – desperately – but not in the sewers of the Hellmouth.

Back in her home, it was still obvious how much being invited in meant to Spike. When they were sitting – still with their hands joined – she simply stated, "You got your one good day."

"You-" he began, then shook his head. "You were gone, I knew it. Buffy, I'm sorry!"

"Sshhh," she said. "It's okay."

"No. I could have stopped it," he insisted.

With a small smile she shook her head at him.

"I don't understand."

"I was in heaven," she told him. "I got this."

Holding out her other hand – the one not clasped with his – he could see light streaming from it. He knew, instinctively, what it was.

Buffy continued, "It's yours, if you want it, but you don't have to."

"I don't… Buffy, I don't-"

"The soul will make things easier for you… For us. But I want you to have a choice. I want you to know that I believe you – that you could love completely without it. Be good without it. And-" she looked away, and took a deep breath, to build her courage. "I want you to know that I love you, whether you take it or not."

His eyes grew even wider. They searched hers, for signs of mocking, or evidence that it was all a dream.

"Buffy-" he began again, but was cut off as she pressed her lips to his.

_To be continued... _


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

The kiss was slow, and gentle, and didn't last long. Not unlike the kiss she'd given him after he'd gone through Glory's torture to keep Dawn's secret safe. 'Was that really only a few weeks ago?' the Slayer asked herself. It seemed like forever, and her whole world had changed since then.

Their lips were apart again, but their eyes were closed, and their foreheads leaned against each other.

"Buffy?"

"Sshhh," she said, "Let's just enjoy the moment."

Spike took a deep breath, in response. There was silence for a while, and then Buffy repeated her earlier words.

"I love you."

Suddenly her face was wet, and she realized that Spike's tears where dripping onto her cheeks.

"I don't deserve this," he was saying. "You died tonight, and I coulda stopped it, but you're sat here rewarding me?" he shook his head, which stopped their foreheads touching. Opening his eyes he concluded, "It's not right."

"It is," Buffy insisted. "In heaven I understood everything. I suddenly had all this knowledge, like outta nowhere, but I trust it."

"Tell me," he said.

"I saw your mom," she began. His eyes went wide for like the hundredth time that night.

"You what?"

"Your mom, Spike. Anne's in heaven."

He was shaking his head again, and had let go of Buffy's hand. Standing up, he began to pace. "No, now I know you're off yer rocker. My-" he had to stop, to choke back more sobs. The Vampire hated how emotional he really was. "My mum's not up there. Not after what I did."

That cued the second revelation from the Slayer. "I know what you did to her, and I know why. Spike, her soul left her body as the demon entered it. It went to heaven, same as yours did."

"I-" he began, before stopping his pacing and standing before her. Looking down at her still glowing hand he gave a nod. It was his soul all right. He knew it, with complete certainty – somehow. Couldn't argue with it.

"Why?" he asked.

That was a big question. Or possibly several questions, depending on how it was interpreted. Before Buffy even began to tackle it, though, he posed an alternative.

"What do you mean it'll make things easier?"

"In a lot of ways," she said. "It would mean you wouldn't have to try so hard, to follow your moral compass. It means that you'd be less likely to, umm…"

"What?"

Buffy averted his eyes as she said, "Less likely to hurt me. Not that you'd mean to, of course, but like I said, with the moral compass and…" she finished the sentence with a shrug.

Spike was studying her intently. "The knowledge you had, up there. Did you – could you see what's gonna happen? Do I try an'-"

Without directly answering his question, Buffy interrupted to point out that it was only a _possible_ future.

"Bugger!" he said, sitting down again, and putting his head in his hands. "Buffy, I never wanted to hurt you."

Considering the circumstances surrounding how they met, she couldn't help but smile about that.

"You haven't," she noted.

"An' if I take that I won't?"

"It's not quite like that. Things are already different."

The Vampire was lost in a sea of conflicting emotions, and they were all painted in vivid color across his face.

"This is a good thing," she reassured him.

"I have to take it," he replied, reaching towards her hand. "If it'll protect you."

"No, Spike," Buffy moved further back into the couch, away from him. "That's not what it's about."

In silence his eyes pleaded with her for everything to make sense.

"If you do this," she continued. "I want it to be for you, not 'cause of me."

"But, Buffy-"

"No," she stated, firmly.

"I don't deserve it," he said again.

"I guess that's debatable, but also irrelevant."

He looked at her, in surprise, and she clarified.

"You're getting the option, one way or the other. And there's nothing to say that you couldn't earn it, after the fact."

He seriously considered that, then put it out of his mind. "Tell me about my mum. Did you like 'er?"

Buffy smiled at him again.

"She's an amazing woman."

Spike lit up at her words. "You could tell that, jus' from one meeting?"

"Told you I knew everything, didn't I?"

"Yeah," he said, his smile fading a little, as he considered his next question. Preempting it, Buffy assured him he was forgiven.

"Really?" he almost didn't believe it. There were tears in his eyes again, but he refused to shed them.

"Do it," he said.

"Yeah?" asked Buffy.

"Yeah. For her. She'd have wanted it."

Nodding, Buffy raised her hand and pressed it to his chest. Light shone out of him, in all directions, and he gasped in something that was like pain, but not quite.

"Buffy, I can feel it!" he exclaimed.

"So can I!" she told him, just as excitedly. When the sensation stopped, and the light faded, they began kissing again – more franticly. Turned on from the power of what they'd just experienced. What they'd shared, together.

_To be continued... _


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Upon descending upon Rovello Drive, the Scoobys were shocked to walk in on Spike and Buffy sleeping on the couch – cuddling into each other.

More surprisingly, when Dawn's squealing woke them up, was the fact that they didn't detach.

"Oh, hi," said Buffy, glancing at the clock and then yawning. "That wasn't nearly enough rest."

Closing her eyes again, and pulling Spike closer, she was just on the verge of falling back asleep when he nudged her slightly and said, "Uh, pet."

"What?"

"Yer mates are here."

"I know," she replied, in a sigh, not bothering to open her eyes a second time. "Someone should totally order food. I just need five more minutes."

Spike shrugged at her lack of concern and then closed his eyes again, too.

"Someone wanna tell me what's going on here?" asked Xander.

"M-maybe we should leave them alone," suggested Tara.

The boy was shaking his head. "No, I'm not having this."

"Grab a stake and you'll have one brassed on Slayer on yer hands," Spike warned him, in a casual tone – as if he were discussing the weather, and not the idea of someone murdering him.

"That's right," Buffy agreed, from where she sat with her head on his shoulder.

"You're all freaks," Dawn exclaimed.

Spike smirked at that. "Jus' about sums it up."

Finally giving up hope of more sleep, Buffy groaned, sat up, and looked at Xander. "Can we not do this?"

"Well-" he began.

"No. Buffy's right." Willow cut him off to say. "I think we've had enough drama to last us for… like, a really long time."

"Amen to that," Dawn agreed, flopping herself down beside her sister – on the opposite side to Spike. "So can we order pizza?"

"Yes," Buffy told her. "And thank you, Willow. I'm _so_ not ready to dissect and defend this relationship yet."

"It's a relationship?!" exclaimed Xander, to which Spike rolled his eyes.

"Alexander Lavelle Harris," Willow chided. "We all could have died tonight. Perspective!"

He held up his hands in defeat, before sitting down in one of the armchairs. "Fine, fine, I'm perspective guy. What kind of pizza are we having?"

"I want Chinese food," Anya told him.

"I rather fancy something more wholesome," said Giles.

"An' I need some blood," Spike added.

It hadn't escaped the Vampire's notice that the watcher was yet to voice his objections to whatever he and Buffy were developing, but he sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to bring it up. Most likely the calm before the storm, he reckoned.

Placing herself in the second armchair, Willow declared take-out too much effort and magic-ed the requested foods right in. Giles frowned at her, but again said nothing.

Off his look, the Witch defended herself. "What? It's a one-off. I think Buffy was right with the more sleep idea."

"Well, I for one, am in favor of food, no matter how it got here," said Xander. "Thanks, Will."

"What he said," Dawn agreed, before starting to open the containers.

Buffy was relieved that soon enough everyone was too busy eating to speak. Silence couldn't last forever, though. Eventually Dawn started asking questions, and Xander started putting his opinions about again, to which the Slayer simply stated she was too tired – "In every way possible" – and told them both to hold off until tomorrow when her head would be more clear.

They both agreed, but neither looked happy about it. Then the group began dispersing back to their own homes again.

Giles was the last to leave and, as he hovered at the door, it was apparent that he was in two minds whether to say anything or not.

Before he chose, Buffy did it for him. Hugging him she said, softly, "Tomorrow?"

He nodded and then left. Dawn had climbed up the stairs to bed just moments earlier, which just left the Slayer and Spike.

Pulling her into his arms, Buffy couldn't help but laugh as he carried her up to bed.

"A girl could get used to this," she joked.

"Yeah," he agreed, with a smile, before setting her down again and heading for the door.

"Wait. Where are you going?"

He looked sheepish as he ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "Uh, well, I was hoping you'd let me away with crashing on yer sofa."

"As if!" Buffy exclaimed.

Spike sighed, and then nodded. "Right you are. I'll head home then. See you tomorrow?"

"Spike, get in bed with me."

"What?"

"You heard. Needy Buffy demands more cuddling."

"But-" he began, to which she raised an eyebrow at him. "Right. Gift horses. Never mind."

She chuckled as he removed his coat and boots with enthusiasm, and then hesitated at the foot of the bed.

"What are we…?"

"We're cuddling. That's it."

"Right," he said again, looking somewhat relieved. Buffy knew how he felt.

"It's been a long day. Heck- a long month! And I know we've gotta talk more stuff through. But for now I really just need to sleep, and I want you with me."

"Fine by me," said Spike, smiling as he slipped in behind her and put his arms around her waist.

It didn't take either of them long to drift off, after that.

_To be continued... _


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Spike couldn't believe it when he woke up in Buffy's bed, holding her, feeling complete for the first real time he could ever recall. He had forgiveness, a soul, and the woman he loved, but more than that. He had peace. Having felt him shift as he rose up from unconsciousness, Buffy turned to face him.

She was smiling at him, and not shying away from his embrace. Spike wondered if _he_ had been the one that really died, and that he was now in heaven, but that seemed to make even less sense than the truth.

"Hey," said Buffy, softly, as she reached up and played with his unkempt hair. "You have serious face. Those aren't allowed on weekends."

Spike grinned back at her. "Pretty sure it's a Thursday, luv."

"Meh, I fought an apocalypse yesterday. Pretty much a holiday for at least the next week, as far as I'm concerned."

The Vampire beamed even more.

"What?" asked Buffy, semi-defensively.

"This," he replied. "I never thought… we're so at ease."

"Well, yeah," she agreed, looking bashful.

"You're so bloody adorable," Spike exclaimed, before leaning in to kiss her. He half expected her to resist, or push him away, but her lips responded to his with equal fervor. "God! I love you so much!"

"I love you, too."

"Bloody hell! How did this happen?!"

"Sshhh," said Buffy. "I can practically hear your brain overworking. Holiday, remember?"

"Sorry, luv. It's just-"

"Sshhh," she said again, before drawing him in for another kiss.

Spike's hand came up, to cup her cheek, and her arms looped round his neck. In a natural movement of bodies, which neither of them gave much conscious thought to, they rolled slightly, so he came to rest on top of her. Then there was a loud crash from downstairs, and they jerked apart.

"I, uh…" Spike began, searching Buffy's eyes to try and figure out if an apology was required of him or not.

"Noise," was all Buffy said. She couldn't really think in complex sentences, at that point.

"Yeah. Umm. We should check it out."

"Right," Buffy agreed, nodding, while looking intently at his lips.

There were a few moments in which there were only looks, and longing, and deep breaths, and then the Vampire pulled himself together and got up from the bed.

* * *

><p>In the kitchen, Spike and Buffy found the entire Scooby gang gathered consuming a mixture of foods that definitely weren't breakfast.<p>

"Hi, guys," said the Slayer, shyly, before she glanced at clock. "Holy crap!"

"Guess you really were tired," Tara commented. Buffy thought about how good it was to have her back. Properly back, and smiling again.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Much sleep. _Only_ sleep." She emphasized the last bit for her younger sister, who just rolled her eyes at her.

"What's the what?" said Xander, before raising a hand to halt any premature answers. "Before you say anything, I want you to know I've received the Willow Rosenberg patented resolve face three times this afternoon while waiting for you both to wake up. So I'm sufficiently warned. Not gonna be an ass." He paused, then added, "Well, if I can help it."

Buffy smiled at her friend, then pulled him into a tight hug.

"Hey, breath kinda an issue here!"

"Sorry!" the Slayer exclaimed, releasing him. She turned to Willow, "Thank you."

"No problem," replied the Witch, as she took a hold of her girlfriend's hand. "This should be a happy day."

"It is," Buffy insisted. "_Way_ happy. Call it a holiday, even."

Spike winked at her, and she blushed.

"Food?" Anya asked both of them.

"Totally!" and, "Ta, pet," were the simultaneous replies.

Giles was stood in the corner, leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping tea and watching it all.

"You okay?" Buffy asked him.

"I think that rather depends on how you are," he replied.

"I'm good," she said. "Really good. But I guess I have some stuff to explain."

Giles nodded. "It would appear so."

_To be continued... _


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

While Buffy agreed she should explain her sudden relationship in the aftermath of yet another apocalypse she wasn't quite sure where to begin. After a moment she just decided 'Screw it' and jumped in the deep end feet first.

"I'm in love with Spike."

There were shocked gasps from Willow and Xander, while Dawn squealed in excitement, Giles frowned, Tara smiled at her, and Anya looked bored.

"When did this occur?" the watcher asked.

"We got together yesterday."

Giles continued to look at her, expectantly. Waiting for more detail, but she didn't provide any.

"Not gonna tell them the bit about me, luv?"

Buffy shook her head. "It's yours to tell, if you want."

"Huh?" said Xander, with his usual eloquence.

"Got myself a soul," Spike stated plainly.

Another round of gasps went around the room – this time the complete set. Before everyone started throwing questions and assumptions around, though, Buffy moved onto the more complicated part.

"That's not the reason I love him," she clarified. "Being dead and seeing my mom again just kinda gave me perspective."

"Wait, what?"

"Dead? Who's dead?"

"You saw mom?!"

"Oh," Buffy blushed. "I missed that part out, huh?"

Spike shook his head at her. "Really hammin' this up, pet."

"Shut up," she replied, but with a smile behind the words rather than her usual snark. Then she addressed the whole group again. "When I jumped off the bridge thing into the portal I died and went to heaven. I saw my mom, and Spike's mom, I understood so much, and felt so much love, was given his soul to go with my new found clarity, and came back into my body."

There were tears in Dawn's eyes. "Mom's safe? Happy, in heaven?"

"Yeah," Buffy assured her, hugging her close for a minute.

Giles still carried his look of concern as he asked if she had any ill effects from the transition.

"Nope. As times I've died go, this one's been my favorite."

"While I admire your chipper attitude, I'm really not sure you're in the best frame of mind to-"

Buffy frowned before pulling her father figure aside into the hall. "Please don't make this hard," she petitioned him. "I'm a big girl, and I know my own mind. I really do love him."

Giles nodded slowly, as if processing each fact he'd been presented with, with each movement of his head. "Very well," he said finally. "If this is the course you choose."

Buffy hugged her surrogate father and whispered her thanks into his ear.

"No need to thank me," he assured her, when they had pulled back from the embrace again.

She just gave him a look. It was pitying, almost. "I really did understand so much up there, y'know."

Giles eyes widened.

"Yeah, I know. Thank you for making the hard decisions. For shouldering that. I couldn't…" Buffy looked away and left the sentence hanging. Then, suddenly, they were hugging again – this time instigated by the watcher. He held her tighter.

"Ain't this a sweet little moment," said Spike, who had appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and the hallway.

Buffy let go of Giles and went to the Vampire's side, wrapped an arm around his waist, and reveled in him kissing her forehead. Then Spike assured the watcher that he only had the best intentions and would stake himself before he'd ever hurt the girl.

"Not if I do it first," Giles replied, looking a lot less gravely serious than he had been.

"Point taken," Spike quipped.

Buffy slapped his chest lightly. "Can we stop talking about killing my boyfriend?"

Spike chuckled and leaned down to whisper something in her ear that wasn't suitable for the watcher to hear. Buffy went beetroot and again slapped his chest. Then the people in the kitchen started filing out past them and started picking up coats.

"You're going out?" Buffy asked them.

"Majority voted you deserved a little privacy," said Xander. "Me as non-ass guy decided not to protest. Much."

Buffy smiled. "Thanks guys, but you don't have to."

Again Spike whispered in her ear and she suddenly changed her tune.

"Where are you gonna be?" she asked her sister, as she helped her into her jacket.

"Janice's," Dawn told her, before adding, "All night."

The Slayer would normally ask if she'd checked to see that was okay before forcing herself on people as a guest, but on that occasion she let it slide.

"Be good," she said instead.

"Yeah, you too," Dawn replied, with a smirk, before shutting the door.

* * *

><p>Spike and Buffy sank down into the couch - both very aware that there were still a lot of things to talk about.<p>

"Still can't bloody believe this is happening," Spike started off by saying.

Buffy smiled. "Kinda great, right?"

"Yeah, but, Buffy-"

"What? Aren't you happy?"

"Joyful outta my bleedin' mind!" he reassured her. "I just don't understand."

"Which bit?"

"You say you love me and-"

"I do," she affirmed.

"And you're happy to admit it, to yer friends even."

"So?"

"So I noticed you skirted around yer watcher's question earlier. How did dying bring this on, exactly? How long have you…?"

"I, uh… I don't know,_ exactly_," she shrugged. "It was kinda gradual. Not like I had a revelation and boom! feelings were had. "

"Right," said Spike, almost looking embarrassed. Buffy made a mental note to ask him the same question, later. In the meantime, though, she continued with her answer.

"First there was the attraction. That was pretty much instant."

Spike's eyes glittered, but she pretended she didn't see; knowing his head would go right back to normal size at the next bit. Well, normal for him, anyway.

"Then there was the blinding hatred, and the annoyance."

"Hey!"

"What? Isn't that what you were aiming for?"

"Well, yeah," he admitted, further protest dying on his lips. Buffy smiled again. He was so funny to wind up.

"So you totally threw me when you started mixing your ridiculous plans with little glimpses of being an actually sweet guy. Then there was the chains incident," she shook her head. "Gotta say, honey? Bad move."

Spike cringed at his actions. He was busy casting his eyes at the ground when the next bit Buffy said made his head shoot up again.

"Maybe chains wouldn't be such a bad idea in future," she said, in a whisper – mostly to herself, it seemed.

"Blood hell!"

Buffy gaped at him while fiddling with the neckline of her sweater that was suddenly to close to her skin and making her feel overheated for some reason. "I _totally _didn't say that out loud."

Spike waggled his eyebrows at her, and she felt the need to hurry the rest of her explanation along.

"Umm, yeah. Gradual. Think the self sacrifice thing you did for me and Dawn kinda topped it, though."

"Buffy-" Spike began, while raking his eyes all over her.

"Yup," she said, with a trembling lip. "Upstairs. Now. Come. I mean go, I mean-Upstairs now!"

They kissed deeply – despairingly – like they were drowning, and fumbled around with their clothes as they moved out into the hallway again.

In a pause for breath, in between heavy gasps, Buffy repeated the word "Now," and added, "Need," in her usual eloquent fashion.

Having initially struggled with some of the buttons, Spike divested her of her pants and hoisted the Slayer up to wrap her legs around him. She strained against his denim clad bulge and they clashed mouths again as he started taking the stairs two at a time.

_To be continued… _


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

"One more question."

"Huh?" said Buffy, as she lay there panting. It had been a two hour marathon, and he had questions? Clearly the Vampire was deranged. She loved him, though. It made her all giddy inside, the fact that they were together. Such release.

Spike propped himself up on one arm and said, "I was thinkin' about-"

"You can think?!" the Slayer exclaimed, cutting him off.

Spike chuckled as he enjoyed the view of her naked chest heaving for breath before him. _Because_ of him.

He'd always thought things with her would be a work out.

"My head's all like… fuzzy. I'm like no-thought-Buffy. I'm talking 'fire bad, tree pretty' proportions."

"Yeah," he drawled. "Good sex'll do that to you."

Buffy sat up and draped a sheet across her. "Are you saying I wasn't good?"

Spike's eyebrows shot up. "What are you goin' on about?"

"If good sex equals not thinking, and you_ can_ think, then that means my sex wasn't good."

She pouted.

He gaped at her, and shook his head, kissed her until she lay down again, then started from the beginning.

"So, I was thinking…"

Buffy smiled up at him. Teasing him was like her favorite hobby. Aside from fighting him, or fuc-

"Yeah?" she interrupted her own wayward thoughts by finally responding to him aloud.

"How far are you gonna push this knowing everything lark?"

With a near expert look of faux innocence Buff replied, "I don't know what you're talking about."

He proceeded to spell it out to her.

"When Dawn said she didn't want to go to summer school, you said she'd meet a boy there, and the Bit believed you, because you know everything, right?"

"Schools have boys."

"Bloody wish they didn't," he groused. "But tha's a different issue. Point is, I think someone's telling porkies."

This time when Buffy had a look of confusion it was real. "Porkies? Is that like a British thing?"

Ignoring her question, Spike continued, "When the Whelp wanted pizza, but went against your topping choice, you said you had knowledge from beyond the grave that you were right."

Buffy burst out laughing. "Yeah, okay, maybe I am over doing it. It's just so fun."

Spike grinned at her.

"Are you admitting that you _don't _know everything?"

"Well, yeah. But I did!"

"Believe you, pet," said Spike, as he mussed her hair.

She smiled at him. "So yeah, I understood a bunch of stuff up there. But I don't know everything. Not anymore."

"Thought that was about it."

"Don't tell Xander?"

Spike chuckled. He mused about how much he loved the woman underneath him. Around him. It was so good to bask in her light. To see her so carefree.

They got carried away again with the kissing, and the touching.

"This is going to be an excellent summer!" Buffy said to him, at one point.

"Summer? Oh, no, baby, this is for life. Or, unlife. Forever!"

"Shut up and kiss me."

Well that he could do. The Vampire practically glowed as they joined lips and… other areas, and he focused on the fact that she didn't correct him. Forever. Now wasn't that a bloody lovely idea?

THE END!


End file.
